Summit Strength
Menu

TRAINING FOR HIKING TIPS

Find out more about what it takes to reach the Summit

The Pyramid Of Breathing Performance For Hikers (If You Get Out Of Breath Hiking Up Hills)

4/20/2021

 
Picture
Do you always get huffed and puffed when hiking up hills? Do you struggle to carry a conversation when going up an incline on the trail? Does your heart rate go through the roof the second you are walking on any elevation?

If you said yes to any of those questions, this article is for you.
One of the most common issues I hear from hikers is they are fine on the flat, have no problem on the descents, but the second they start hiking up a small amount of incline, they turn into a red-faced, sweating, huffing and puffing mess.

And if this is you, don't feel bad. Because you are not alone!

But, if you do struggle with getting out of breath when hiking up hills, just know you can make a change to this.

And, if you do the right things in your training, you can turn uphill hiking from an absolute ordeal to a walk in the park!

And today, I want to share with you my strategy for doing precisely this.

Improving Your Breathing When Hiking Up Hills

Picture

When it comes to improving your breathing performance when hiking up hills, it is all about priorities. There are some areas of training you should spend most of your time, and will give the best benefits.

Others may be beneficial but don't really need a tremendous amount of time.

And then are some, which are only really worthwhile, if you are already nailing the other sections of your hiking.

Unfortunately, many hikers here have their priorities out of whack. And spend way too much time in some areas (such as typical HIIT training). And not nearly enough time on others.

Now many different approaches CAN work here. And people have seen success with dozens of different strategies.  

But today, I am sharing with you the Summit Strength Method, which is the exact method I use with my own training for hiking clients.

I know this approach works because I have used it with dozens of hikers to help their uphill hiking.  

From beginners who are first discovering hiking and slowly building up their day hiking distance. To hardcore mountaineers, who are preparing for some of the tallest mountains in the world.

While the details of how you apply this training will vary from person to person, the overarching strategy as a whole is valuable for any hiker who is wanting to improve their breathing when hiking up hills.

Introducing, the Pyramid Of Breathing Performance For Hikers:

Picture

Aerobic Capacity

Picture
Aerobic capacity is the single most crucial aspect of fitness for any hiker to develop. The aerobic energy system is the system in the body that produces energy while in the presence of oxygen.

This is what you use for 95% of your hiking time. And this is where the majority of your training hours should be spent.

If you struggle with getting out of breath on hills, developing and training your aerobic capacity is the first place you should look.

So how do you do it?

Well, it is really simple.

Aerobic capacity responds to long-duration, low-intensity exercise.

So think hiking, walking, easy jogging, cycling, even swimming.

Anything which you can sustain for an extended period of time, without getting out of breath.

It may seem a bit backwards for some to focus on low-intensity exercise to improve the trail's higher difficulty sections, but it is 100% necessary.

And the better you can develop this, the longer and faster you can hike without relying on your other energy systems (and getting huffed and puffed).

So how much of this should a hiker be doing?

Well, that is hard to say as this is a VERY individual question.  

And depending on training history, time availability, type of exercise, and a dozen other factors, it will determine the exact answer. 

But, if you struggle with getting out of breath on hills, adding an extra session or two of aerobic capacity is always the first place to start.

IMPORTANT TIP: Aerobic capacity best responds to volume and not intensity. So if you want to improve this, think about adding in more minutes per session/per week, not simply going faster or harder.


Aerobic Power
Picture
Aerobic power is the highest intensity your body can maintain while still predominantly using your aerobic energy system.

Developing and training this is incredibly relevant for uphill hiking. Not only can this help you hike at higher intensities without getting out of breath, but it can also make you much more comfortable when you are getting out of breath (which is just as important!)

Aerobic power is best developed through some very particular interval training.

This is how I like to do it:

  • Find a stationary bike, elliptical, rower, sled or, set of stairs or long hill
  • Go quick for 3 minutes
  • Rest for 1.5 minutes
  • Repeat 6-10 times

For this workout, the work and rest periods are very intentional and are designed to target this 'aerobic power' specifically. So try your best to stick to them!

I would recommend hikers who struggle with their breathing up hills include this type of training once a week. And slowly progress it over time.

*For a video demonstration of an aerobic power interval workout, you can check out this article:
A Great Interval Training Workout For Hikers

Sprint Training
Picture

Sprint training is any type of interval training where you go absolutely 100% intensity. It doesn't have to mean actually sprinting (i.e. running) but includes any kind of cardio activity where you can go all out.

While this type of training has several benefits to energy system development (depending on what kind of work/rest ratio you use), the main benefit this type of training has to uphill hiking is simply exposing your body to super high intensities.

This can physically and mentally help you feel much more comfortable when you are working harder. So when you are on these hills, the breathing and discomfort aren't quite as much of an issue.

*For this reason, a hiker has a bit more leeway regarding workout structure (compared to the specific work/rest periods described in the aerobic power intervals). So feel free to get creative here. 

There are countless ways of using sprint training to help in this situation, but one of my favourites is this:

  • Find a stationary bike, elliptical or sled
  • SPRINT for 30 seconds
  • Rest for 30 seconds
  • Repeat ten times

I would recommend hikers include this type of training once a week. Either as a stand-alone session, at the end of a strength session, or the start of an aerobic capacity session.

Respiratory Muscle Training

Picture
                                                                               *Image credit aerofit.com

If you are consistently and diligently working on aerobic capacity, aerobic power and have incorporated some sprint training and STILL struggle with your breathing; you might consider respiratory muscle training.

Respiratory muscle training is essentially strength training for your breathing muscles. While your breathing muscles are never the 'limiting factor when it comes to your exercise performance, if you can improve these muscles' strength, everything you do is going to be much easier.

*This is pretty much the same way is building strength in your muscles will make hiking easier.

With this type of training, the tricky thing is it requires a specific 'respiratory training device', which can effectively load the inspiratory muscles to adapt and get stronger.

If you do not have one of these devices, it is likely you won't be able to apply enough load to the respiratory muscles, and the training will not be incredibly effective. 

Standard options here are 'POWERbreathe' or Aerofit' devices *  

*An 'elevation mask' or 'training mask' does not do the same thing.

*The effective stimulus for this type of training is 3 minutes in the morning, 3 minutes in the evening for 4-6 weeks. So for time commitments, very achievable!

As you can see, there is a bit of thought and a bit of a process to best improving your breathing performance for hiking.

But if you follow this system, put this information into action and focus your training priorities correctly, you can genuinely make a dramatic difference to your breathing on the trail. And, ultimately, you can turn those steep uphill sections into a walk in the park!


Want To Get
Fit, Strong and pain-Free
For Your Hiking Adventures?

Check Out
The Online Summit Program


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Rowan is an online personal trainer who specialises in training for hiking and mountaineering. He helps get them fit, strong and resilient so they can conquer every adventure. 

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018

    Categories

    All
    About Rowan Smith
    Aerobic Training
    Altitude Mask
    Altitude Sickness
    Altitude Training
    Ankle Pain
    Back Pain
    Balance
    Best Exercises For Hiking
    Book Review
    Breathing
    Cardio
    Case Studies
    Challenge Event
    Challenge Hike
    Cold Weather
    Continental Divide Trail
    Core Training
    Cramps
    Desert-hiking
    Downhill Hiking
    Elevation Training
    Endurance
    Equipment
    Everest Base Camp
    Extreme-environments
    Fitness-assessments
    Fitness-tests
    Foot Pain
    Guest Posts
    Gym Training
    Health
    High Altitude
    High Intensity Training
    Hiking Speed
    Hip Strength
    Home Workouts
    Hot Weather
    Hump Ridge Track
    Inca Trail
    Injury Prevention
    Interval Training
    Kilimanjaro
    Knee Pain
    Larapinta Trail
    Live Stream
    Loaded Pack Walking
    Media Appearances
    Mental Strength
    Mera Peak
    Mindset
    Mini-course
    Mobility
    Mountaineering
    Multi Day Hike
    Multi-day Hike
    Muscular Endurance
    Newsletter
    Nutrition
    Oxfam
    Pacific Crest Trail
    Pack Training
    Planning-and-logistics
    Plantar Fasciitis
    Plyometrics
    Podcast
    Recovery
    Rock Scrambling
    Running
    Shoulder Pain
    Strength Training
    Summit Strength Method
    Summit-strength-method
    Te Araroa
    The-overland-track
    Thru-hiking
    Thruhiking
    Time Efficient Training
    Timeefficient-training
    Tour Du Mont Blanc
    Training Hike
    Trek-tips
    Trek-tips
    Trek Training
    Trektraining
    Ultralight
    Uphill Hiking
    Upper-body-training
    Warm Up
    Webinar
    Weight Loss
    Workouts
    Workout Tips

    RSS Feed

About

Summit Strength is a personal training for hiking service created specifically to help hikers have the best chance of a safe, enjoyable and successful adventure. 
Picture

Company

About
Blog
Podcast
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer

Services

Online Summit Program
Learn How To Train For Hiking Course 

Support

Contact
​

Join Our Free Community Group


© COPYRIGHT 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Website Design by My Personal Trainer Website
  • Home
  • About
  • Online Training
  • Success Stories
  • Blog
  • Home
  • About
  • Online Training
  • Success Stories
  • Blog